


Stomachache

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22562506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets anxious about playing a song, and gets a stomachache from it.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Stomachache

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“Alright guys, let’s go to soundcheck!” Alex exclaimed as he walked into the front lounge of the bus.  
“Alex, we haven’t seen you all morning, what have you been up to?” Jack asked as he grabbed everything he’d need to take into the venue.  
“I’ve just been practicing on my acoustic for tonight,” Alex replied as casually as possible.  
“All morning? Isn’t that a bit much?” Zack asked back.  
“Well, I kept fucking up the bridge to Break Your Little Heart when we rehearsed for this tour, and I just don’t want to get it wrong when we’re onstage tonight,” Alex explained.  
“You sound a bit nervous. We’ve played that song on other tours, I’m sure it’ll be just fine tonight,” Rian assured.  
“I hope so, let’s just get to soundcheck,” Alex decided.  
“Did you have breakfast or lunch today?” Jack asked Alex as the four of them got off of the bus.  
“No, but I’ll eat something after soundcheck,” Alex replied.  
“That works, I think we were thinking about going out to eat after we finish up soundcheck,” Jack said, smiling at his friend. Alex gave a small smile back but couldn’t help but continue to feel anxious. He really hated messing up onstage, he knew he was better than that.   
When they got into the venue, their gear was already set up, so they waked onstage and grabbed their instruments.  
“Okay, let’s go in the order of the setlist,” Rian suggested form behind his drumkit.  
“Good idea, count us off, Alex!” Zack stated.  
“One, two, three!” Alex exclaimed as they started into their first song. Soundcheck was going really well, especially considering this was their first show on their new tour. When they got to Break Your Little Heart, they stopped for a drink break.  
“You’ve got this, Alex. We know you know the riff. Just try to have fun and don’t stress yourself out too much,” Jack said once they were all ready to start back up.  
“I sure hope I do,” Alex muttered as they started into the song. Alex did great on the verses and choruses, but messed up at the bridge, the same part he’d been having trouble with all day now. The rest of the band could tell how frustrated Alex was, but deiced to not say anything, deciding that doing so would just make the situation worse.   
Due to having messed up for what felt like the millionth time, Alex started to feel nervous. They’d been playing shows for a while now, so Alex hardly ever got nervous at this point, but this was enough to bring those feelings of anxiety and fear back to him.   
He felt a dull pain in his stomach, and knew that this was anxiety settling in. While telling his band would be the smart thing to do, Alex refused to do this. He hoped that after they finished soundcheck, he could go into the green room and play around with the riff until it was permanently engrained into his head. Once they were done with the rest of soundcheck, everyone put their instruments away, except for Alex.  
“Alex, put your guitar down, it’s time to get some food!” Jack exclaimed.  
“I’m going to stay here, actually. I want to stay in the green room and mess with this riff until I nail it,” Alex explained.  
“Well, you’ve got to eat, man,” Rian stated.  
“Why don’t we bring you something from wherever we end up at?” Zack suggested.  
“Sure, that’ll work. I’ll be in the green room, have a nice meal,” Alex said, walking offstage and making a beeline to the green room. He shut the door, then sat down on the couch. He started to play the riff very slowly, deciding that playing it at the correct speed wouldn’t happen until he could get it like this. Even though he was doing a good job of playing it slowly, he could still feel anxiety pooling in his stomach.   
Eventually, it got to be overwhelming, so he set down his guitar and leaned back on the couch. Alex tried taking a deep breath, but this wasn’t enough to calm the churning feeing in his stomach. He wrapped his arms around it and hunched over as he could feel his anxieties intensify even more.   
He hated this; he hadn’t felt this concerned for a show in years. Since he did have so much experience, Alex thought that it was stupid that he felt this way, especially since all of this was over a couple bars of a riff in a song that he normally loved to play.   
Alex started to scroll through various sites on his phone, hoping that it would make him forget about his nerves, but it ended up doing the opposite. Eventually, there was a knock at the door to the green room.  
“Come in,” Alex said, putting his phone away. The door opened, and Jack walked through it with a to go box.  
“We got you a burger and fries. I had that at the restaurant, and it was pretty good,” Jack said, putting the box on the coffee table.  
“Thanks,” Alex replied.  
“How’s the riff been going?” Jack asked, sensing that Alex was still frustrated.  
“It’s okay, I’m still not getting it as solid as I’d like to be,” Alex replied.  
“Well, why don’t you take a break and eat the food we brought you,” Jack suggested.  
“I think I’m going to work a bit more first,” Alex decided.  
“Do you want to be alone?” Jack asked, getting the hint.  
“If you don’t mind,” Alex replied.  
“No problem, dude, just don’t stress yourself out too much,” Jack cautioned before walking out of the room. Alex opened up the takeout box to see a big burger and fries that looked very good. He wanted to eat it, but the anxious feeling in his stomach was still there, and Alex decided that if he tried to eat it, it would probably just come back up, so he closed the box and continued to try and work out the riff.   
After a few hours of frustration and tears, it was showtime. Alex never ended up eating the food that his friends had brought him, but he figured that he could try to eat it after their set. Alex noticed that he felt a bit shaky, but he did his best to ignore the feeling as he walked over to the stage entrance.   
The rest of the band was already there, and they were listening to Jack tell what seemed like to be a bad joke, due to the lack of laughter coming from Rian and Zack.  
“Hey, Alex is finally here! Did you finally get that part figured out?” Jack asked when he saw Alex grabbing his guitar.  
“As good as I’m going to get it,” Alex replied.  
“I’m sure it’ll sound great!” Rian said, trying his best to encourage his friend. Alex gave a small smile as he practiced the progression until a crew member told them that it was time for them to go onstage. Right after taking their places, they started into their first song.   
Unfortunately, the nerves and lack of eating all day made Alex feel a bit shaky, but he decided he’d be fine, and would do something to fix his hunger after their set. As the show went on, Alex felt more and more faint, which he knew wasn’t good. he tried to temporarily fix this by drinking water in between songs to feel full, but his anxiety was still making his stomach hurt, so he couldn’t really drink that much at a time.  
“You guys have been a great crowd; this song is called Break Your Little Heart!” Alex exclaimed in a shaky voice. Alex noticed the concerned look on Jack’s face but chose to ignore it as he started the band into the song. In the middle of the second verse, Alex started to see spots, which he knew was very bad. He could feel his anxiety getting higher the closer to the bridge they got but did his best to keep playing through it.   
Suddenly, he started to feel very weak. His guitar felt like it weighted a ton, and every movement he made felt physically taxing. Alex tried to take a deep breath to rest his mind some, but instead, everything turned black.  
\------------------  
Alex slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was now on the bus, in the back lounge.  
“Why are we in here? Don’t we have a show to play?” Alex asked, noticing the rest of the band was with him.  
“Well, we were playing it, but you passed out mid song,” Jack replied.  
“And you guys just ended it there?” Alex asked, more concerned about the show than himself, as per usual.  
“Dude, you randomly fainted, I think that was a good reason to call it a night,” Zack stated.  
“Do you know what made you pass out?” Rian asked in a sympathetic voice.  
“Actually, I think I do, but you guys are going to be pissed about it,” Alex replied in a small voice.  
“What is it, man? we just want to make sure that you’re not sick or anything,” Jack replied.  
“Well, I never ate the food that you guys brought me, so I haven’t eaten anything all day,” Alex explained.   
“I’m getting you one of my protein bars, we can get you some real food in a minute, after you explain why you thought going onstage on an empty stomach would be a good idea,” Zack said, quickly grabbing a protein bar from the kitchen then giving it to Alex.  
“Dude, why didn’t you eat all day?” Jack asked as Alex took a bite out of the protein bar.  
“Well, I genuinely forgot to eat before we went to soundcheck. When you guys were out, I had a lot of trouble with that riff, and I started to freak out about playing it. I got bad anxiety that made my stomach hurt, and it still hurt by the time we had to go on, so I never ate anything,” Alex explained.  
“Dude, you can’t do that,” Rian stated.  
“I know, and I’m sorry for freaking you guys out, I won’t not eat again,” Alex promised.  
“Can you also promise to not stress yourself out so much? You passing out was probably due to a combination of hunger and anxiety. A short little riff isn’t worth all of that,” Jack explained.  
“I know, and I’m sorry I let it get to me so much. Next time, I’ll just talk to you guys, so I don’t let myself get so stressed,” Alex promised.  
“Good, we don’t want anything bad like this to happen to you, man,” Zack stated, making Alex smile some.  
“You guys are the best,” Alex replied.  
“We know that, dude. I’m going to make you a frozen dinner, then maybe we can all watch some TV back here,” Jack suggested.  
“I’d like that,” Alex replied. Jack ended up making Alex frozen spaghetti and meatballs, then they decided to all watch the first Hangover movie together.   
Alex knew that he’d messed up, he shouldn’t have let his frustration get to him so badly. Despite what had happened, Alex was glad to have friends that cared about him so much, they made days like this one a little easier to get through.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for XxBlurryDiamondxX! I only have one more request to get done for them, which is super bittersweet, because I've really enjoyed writing all of their ideas!! I'm super excited to get working on the last two requests that I have, but will definitely take more, so I'll still have some to work on! Please send in ideas if you have them, I love writing for you guys!! Thank you guys for reading my work, this is my 135th story, so thank you guys for liking what I post so much, it really does mean the world to me. Lots of love, Liv.


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